Mike Doughty

Minneapolis might as well be a second hometown for Mike Doughty: To most of the country, Soul Coughing were a quirky, pigeonhole-proof bunch of beatniks with modest appeal, but here, they were superstars. You could pin that on the support of local radio champions like Rev 105 and Radio K—and now the Current, which has tracks from Doughty's latest solo album, Sad Man Happy Man, in regular rotation. But you could also credit a mutual intersection between Doughty's accessibly strange, genre-hopping songwriting and Minnesota's offbeat, whatever-works pop sensibility. Doughty's acoustic tours have found enthusiastic, quick-sellout receptions when they hit the Twin Cities, and the four "Question Jar" shows he'll be staging this Friday and Saturday attest to the rapport he has with his fan base. At these part music revue, part Q&A sessions, Doughty draws fascinating stories from audience-submitted inquiries, revealing the clockwork that propels his idiosyncratic songs.
Fridays, Saturdays, 7 & 9:30 p.m. Starts: March 19. Continues through March 20, 2010